“Well,” Huda was saying. “I suppose you should know: he doesn’t act at all like a king. He wears the same dreary clothes every day, no pomp whatsoever. He’sobscenelyquiet; he never sits down; I’ve never seen him eat; and he performs a shocking amount of magic. He’s always disappearing, for example, or else appearing when you least expect him. I’ve seen more magic from him in this last month than I’ve seen in my whole life – and I’m inclined to agree with Kamran that he must get his power from the devil, for how else could he cast so many spells? And no one knows where he goes when he’s all the time disappearing! Very suspicious.” She lowered her voice. “Though I overheard Kamran in a rage one day,telling Hazan how he’d witnessed Cyrus in some ungodly state the night prior – something about him being drenched in blood –”
Alizeh inhaled sharply.
“I know! Horrifying! Then again, when I saw Cyrus later that day he appeared perfectly normal, so I fear Kamran might’ve been exaggerating.” Huda exhaled, deflating as suddenly as she animated. “Otherwise,” she said, “he’s boorish and awful and wastes all his evil magic on stale displays of imitation guilt. Heavens, if he feels so terrible about what’s happened to you, perhaps he never should’ve kidnapped you to begin with!” she cried, angrily swiping petals off the bed. “I swear, it’s insupportable. He’s enchanted every inch of the city with the same pink roses, and he refuses to say a word about it – he hasn’t even accepted responsibility! The citizens, of course, think they’re all elaborate displays for the Wintrose Festival, but I know better. I caught him once, saw him growing roses in his hands –”
“I see,” said Alizeh with a quiet finality. She couldn’t bear to hear more about the flowers; her heart was already too soft toward the notorious southern king. “I take it he’s treated you all poorly?”
Huda hesitated. “No,” she said. “In fact, we’ve been well cared for. Omid eats enough for ten of us, and Deen has been delighting in the medicinal stores available in the castle. Deen says that, in Ardunia, he’s only allotted a very small amount of magic from the crown for his business, but here, they have access to a great deal. He asked the king one day if he might try his hand at mixing potions,and Cyrus did not deny him access.” She shrugged. “Anyway, Omid eats a lot, I spy a lot, Kamran skulks, Hazan broods, and Deen spends most of his days working with the palace alchemist. We all meet for meals, though mostly we don’t see Cyrus at all. I suppose he has lots of secretive things to do, being king, et cetera.”
Finally, Huda’s small speech came to a close, and Alizeh turned to face her. A thousand more questions sat at the tip of her tongue, but she was prevented from asking, for Huda had pinned her with a curious look.
“Are you really going to marry him?” she asked.
Alizeh froze. She felt oddly breathless at the thought, and said softly, “I might.”
Surprisingly, Huda did not condemn her for it. Instead, she canted her head and said, “I didn’t understand at first, of course. Though I suppose now I can see the draw.”
Alizeh’s lips parted in astonishment. “You can?”
“Of course I can.” Huda laughed, then frowned. “I might marry him, too, if it meant I got to kill him shortly thereafter and take his empire.”
At once, Alizeh felt as if all the blood had rushed from her head. “How did you – How do you –”
“Oh, my dear, don’t look so afraid! No one is upset with you! That is, Kamran was understandably distressed at first – but just until Cyrus told us about Iblees forcing him to marry you.” She waved a hand. “Not to worry; he clarified the terms of your deal. He even told us he’d offered to make you a blood oath – which I think is a very good idea,by the way, no matter how brutal Hazan claims it to be.” She raised an eyebrow. “I certainly wouldn’t risk marrying such a man without a blood oath to secure my future.”
Alizeh blinked, stunned. “So everyone knows? And no one objects to me marrying Cyrus?”
“Well.” Huda bit her fingernail. “Perhaps you should speak with Hazan before you make your final decision. I fear he has a great deal to say to you on the subject.”
Again, Alizeh blinked. “I see.”
“Anyhow,” Huda said cheerfully, and tapped the suitcase. “The gown I’ve chosen for you issublime. Sarra showed me the trousseau she’d gathered in your honor, and together we went through the many articles she’d selected for your wardrobe. Most things have to be remade in your measurements, by the way – which I found shocking, considering how well that lavender dress fit you the night of the ball – but Sarra explained that Cyrus’s gifts had been magicked to fit their wearer, while the garments she’d chosen were ordinary commissions –”
“Huda,” Alizeh said, struggling to center herself, “I don’t mean to offend, but I’ve grown weary under the weight of these many disclosures. I think I’d prefer to return to the palace and choose my own clothes. There are many important conversations ahead of me, and all I need for now is something decent and sensible –”
Huda scoffed. “As if you could wear something decent and sensible to face such a crowd! You’re their queen, dear,and you have to look the part, especially as they’ve all been waiting so patiently –”
“What?”
Huda, who’d been unlatching the luggage, briefly froze. “Right,” she said, wincing. “Did I forget to mention that part?”
TWENTY-ONE
“THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE,” SAID HAZAN,doing nothing now to conceal his apprehension. They were both staring at the nosta Cyrus held in his outstretched hand. “How could it belong to you? My mother left that to me in her will.”
A flare of heat from the nosta confirmed these words – though Cyrus did not require the assistance, for he was fairly able to detect a lie. “Who was your mother?”
Hazan’s jaw clenched. “I didn’t come here to be interrogated.”
“No,” Cyrus said, and looked him over. “You came here to interrogate me.”
“You can’t be shocked to hear it,” said Hazan, who was flushed with anger. “It’s beyond evident that I don’t trust you.”
Cyrus almost smiled. “And you’re hoping I’ll put your fears to rest?”
“I want to know the terms of your deal with the devil.”
“No.”
